Still feeling as though he were prying in some way, Jeremy quickly set the trinket box back upon the dressing table and, with the two stacks of letters in hand, quit the room and hurried back along to his study. Closing the door tightly, he set the letters down upon his desk and went to pour himself a small whisky. He felt as though he could do with a little sustenance.
“My lord.”
The butler scratched at the door.
“The refreshments?”
Jeremy cleared his throat and called him to enter.
“Set them there,” he said, quickly realizing that he had forgotten the tea and the food that had been left waiting for him in Rebecca’s rooms. Obviously, the butler had taken note and had sent them along. “And then I am not to be disturbed. Tell the staff they can begin to pack up my late wife’s things to be sent to Lord Northgate. I have completed my own study of them.”
The butler nodded, the tray of food now waiting for Jeremy to partake of it. “Of course, my lord. At once.” He left the room and closed the door tightly, reassuring Jeremy that he would not be disturbed.
Letting out a long, slow breath, Jeremy sat down and pulled open the black ribbon, quickly counting that there were eleven letters in total. The letters were blank save for a swirling letter ‘M’ on the front, which had him frowning.
Opening the first, Jeremy’s eyes quickly scanned the page, his breath catching in his chest as he read what was Rebecca’s desperate pleas. She had cried out desperately for this gentleman, whomever he was, to return to her, not to leave her as she was.
His heart sank as he continued to read those terrible words, aching for what his cousin had endured. Setting it down quickly, he pulled a letter from the back and opened it quickly, surprised at the difference in tone.
It was full of love and adoration, telling this gentleman, whomever he was, that he had quite captured her heart and made her feel that she was not the quiet, delicate young woman that she saw herself to be. She thanked him for his own letters and his words of love – and immediately, Jeremy understood what had occurred.
These letters were to the same gentleman. The man who had taken advantage of his sweet cousin and used her for his own pleasures. Her desperation in the last letter showed what had occurred and how poorly she had been treated. His anger burned hot, angry with both the gentleman and with Rebecca for never allowing either himself or her father to see these letters. Had they done so, they might then have been able to identify the fellow and then could have taken steps to set things to rights.
Although to have forced Rebecca to marry such a man was quite unthinkable, Jeremy had to admit.
Setting the letters to one side, Jeremy put the black ribbon on top and turned his attention to the red ribbon letters instead. This time, he began at the very bottom of the pile, pulling out one of the first and opening it quickly.
‘My dearest Rebecca,’ it read. ‘I must continue to beg you to remain silent about our continued acquaintance, for, as you are well aware, my mother is determined for me to marry someone completely unsuitable to my temperament and it will take time for me to persuade her that I must be allowed to make my own choice. Say that you will continue to meet with me? Say that you will escape to me whenever you can! My heart is yours. You cannot know of just how deeply my affections run, for my every thought, my every moment, is filled with you.’
Jeremy’s blood ran cold at this, seeing the manipulation clearly. Poor Rebecca, so quiet and yet so naïve, she had obviously believed every word that this gentleman had said. Had she truly believed that he loved her? Had this been her reason for her silence? Even though he had treated her cruelly, did something within her still want to protect him?
“I wish I could find you,” Jeremy bit out, his anger flaring hot. “I should beat you senseless for what you did to her.” Closing his eyes, he considered ripping the letter into tiny pieces and then throwing it on the fire, but managing to regain a hold of his temper, he deftly folded the letter back up again and thereafter took the one from the top.
It was short and to the point, devoid of any emotion. Jeremy could imagine Rebecca reading these words, could almost feel the devastating heartbreak that would follow.
“You must cease your letters,’ the gentleman had written. ‘I have no use for them. Therefore, I have returned them all. You shall not have anything from me, for I claim no responsibility for what has occurred. M.’
Breathing hard, Jeremy closed his eyes, his hand tightening on the letter. How could someone dare to write something so callous, something that was bound to break the very spirit of the girl he had seduced? It was utterly disgraceful.
And then, something caught his attention.
‘M’.
It could, of course, be any gentleman within the beau monde, for there were both surnames and titles that began with that letter. In addition, the gentleman might have given Rebecca a false name, so that she could not truly know him – but surely, surely, within one of these letters, there would be reference made to his name? He had to know. He had to know who it was.
Quickly, Jeremy set aside the red ribbon letters and returned his attention to ones Rebecca had written. Going through each one in turn, he opened them and read it quickly, praying that his cousin had written the name of the gentleman somewhere within.
And then, his eyes came to rest upon it.
Dread and triumph filled his entire being, his lungs heaving with the shock of what he had read. Rebecca had been in London at the same time as Lord Montrose. The very same Lord Montrose who was now to marry Eliza.
Jeremy put the letter back on the desk with a trembling hand, fury beginning to writhe through him like a snake. He wanted to call for his horse and ride back to London at this very moment, throwing the letter down in front of Lord Montrose and demanding that he admit what he had done. She had to know the truth, even if she did not turn away from Lord Montrose and towards him, she had to know that Lord Montrose was not the sort of gentleman who could ever make her happy. Even if it was too late for Rebecca, he could save Eliza from the horrible fate of marrying such a braggard.
Fire settled into the pit of his stomach and he rose to his feet at once, striding across the room to pull at the bell. The butler would appear in a moment and Jeremy intended to return to London that very same day, if he could.
He had to have justice for Rebecca in one way or the other and had to save Eliza from her fate. He just prayed that Eliza would listen to him and that she would not turn away from him again. Perhaps, in this, he would find a way to redeem himself from all the pain he had settled upon her shoulders, all those years ago.
Chapter Twelve